OREANDA-NEWS. February 03, 2011. Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation PLC ('ENRC' or, together with its subsidiaries, the 'Group') today announces the extension of a call option (the 'Call Option') originally granted in conjunction with the acquisition of a 25% interest in Shubarkol Komir JSC ('Shubarkol') in February 2009 (the 'Call Option Extension'), reported the press-centre of KASE.

The Call Option gives ENRC the right to acquire the outstanding 75% of the ordinary shares of Shubarkol for a consideration of some USD600 million. The Call Option Extension, which has been granted for nil consideration, extends the expiry date of the Call Option by up to 12 months, to 31 January 2012. All other terms of the Call Option are unchanged.

Shubarkol, one of Kazakhstan's largest thermal coal producers, is majority owned by Eurasian Industrial Company JSC ('EIC'), a private company beneficially wholly owned by the three Founder Shareholders of ENRC, who together hold 43.77% of ENRC's issued share capital.

Felix J Vulis, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Shubarkol represents an attractive, complementary and important strategic asset, which would add to the Group's projected coal capacity and support the development of its businesses in Kazakhstan. This transaction gives us an additional 12 months strategic optionality in a valuable segment of the market and over one of Kazakhstan's most attractive coal assets at no additional cost to the Group."